Information Polity

This paper describes the development of the National Land Information Services, the overall aim of which is to improve the management of land and property by linking details of land ownership, value and use at the level of the individual land parcel with topographical, utility, environmental and socio-economic data which can be accessed by government, business and citizens through electronic systems. The paper analyses the role of the UK geographical information policy network in developing this system. It shows how the policy network is open to information-mediated change to enable the development of this system and change power relationships within the network.

A growing number of public organizations outsource the construction of critical Information Technology (IT) systems. The current public administration theory depicts a world in which the authoritative bureaucrat controls the subjugated vendor. Yet, following three years of fieldwork on this topic, I discovered that vendors play an increasingly influential political role in shaping the agenda of public IT projects. I develop four political models of public IT projects based on how bureaucrats employ their technical knowledge and how vendors manipulate their political status. I exemplify these models with four case studies that reveal the unique reality of public IT projects where failure is common and where planning and execution are inseparable activities. The cases also expose the variety of political roles vendors assume and how they sometimes lead public projects from behind the scenes.

The growth in electronic commerce has led a number of countries to develop national level plans and statements on electronic commerce or the information economy. The evaluation of these plans is difficult. An evaluation framework taken from the economics field is used to assess the value and the emphases of these plans. The factors considered are efficiency, justice, growth and stability. A revised model for evaluating electronic commerce/information economy policies is presented and discussed. This takes into account the significance of economic globalisation, cultural and linguistic concerns and security issues. Three national plans are evaluated to determine relevant factors for inclusion in such a framework. The policies are then compared and the implications for businesses, university educators and researchers are discussed. Companies should expect the trend of globalisation to continue and therefore they should attempt to re-position themselves to take advantage of new markets and new ways of doing business via the Web. Universities must position themselves for the improvements in telecommunications infrastructures by developing on-line multi-media courses and making sure all students are equipped with skills for the information economy. Researchers must start to develop links with industry since the funding for future research will inevitably come from the private sector if the guiding principles of these plans are taken seriously.